Dynamically adjusted results for search interface

ABSTRACT

Several systems, apparatuses, and methods are described. A data transmission that includes data indicating a first search query for an item of a publication system is received from a client machine. A first plurality of search results is determined from listed items based, at least in part, on the first search query, and the first plurality of search results are each associated with a price. A range of prices associated with a first subset of the search results is determined based on a price distribution range including a median price associated with the first search results, or a utility cost function using a plurality of price quantiles and a plurality of price values included in different price quantiles. The determined first search results and the range of prices associated with the first subset of the first search results are transmitted to the client machine for display.

PRIORITY CLAIM

This application claims the benefit of U.S. application Ser. No.14/721,605, filed May 26, 2015, which itself claims the benefit of U.S.Provisional Application No. 62/036,955, filed Aug. 13, 2014. Thecontents of both of which are hereby incorporated by reference in theirentirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present application relates generally to the technical field of dataprocessing and, in particular, to dynamically adjusting results for oneor more queries received via a search interface.

BACKGROUND

A publication system may provide a user interface for a user to access awide variety of items or services for sale. The publication system maybe accessed using a web browser, such as Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox,Microsoft Internet Explorer, and other such web browsers. Thepublication system may accept search queries via the web browser to helpa user find a particular offered item, such as a good or service. Inresponse, the publication system may display a set of search resultsthat match, or are related to, the received search query. However, theuser may not know what a searched item's typical or popular pricelisting or sale price is, and the publication system may have nomeaningful way for the user to quickly determine this information.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Some embodiments of the present disclosure are illustrated by way ofexample and not limitation in the figures of the accompanying drawings,in which like reference numbers indicate similar elements, and in which:

FIG. 1 illustrates a network architecture of an exemplary system,according to aspects of the disclosure.

FIG. 2 illustrates exemplary applications executable by one or moreapplication servers, according to aspects of the disclosure.

FIG. 3 illustrates an exemplary client machine, according to aspects ofthe disclosure.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating components of a machine able toread instructions from a machine-readable medium (e.g., amachine-readable storage medium) and perform any one or more of themethodologies discussed herein, according to aspects of the disclosure.

FIGS. 5A-5B are block diagrams illustrating a representative hardware orsoftware architecture, which may be used in conjunction with varioushardware architectures herein described, according to aspects of thedisclosure.

FIG. 6 illustrates an exemplary logic flow for dynamically determiningpopular price ranges for one or more items based on one or more receivedsearch queries according to aspects of the disclosure.

FIG. 7 illustrates a web page of a publication system (e.g., anelectronic marketplace) configured to receive search queries for itemsoffered for sale by the electronic marketplace, according to aspects ofthe disclosure.

FIG. 8 illustrates another web page of the electronic marketplacedisplaying search results and a popular price range in response to areceived search query, according to aspects of the disclosure.

FIG. 9 illustrates yet another web page of the electronic marketplacedisplaying filters and corresponding filter values for narrowing thescope of displayed search results, according to aspects of thedisclosure.

FIG. 10 illustrates yet another web page of the electronic marketplacedisplaying price ranges that have been determined for the receivedsearch query, according to aspects of the disclosure.

FIGS. 11A-11C illustrate exemplary logic flows for dynamicallydetermining popular price ranges for one or more items based on one ormore received search queries according to aspects of the disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The description that follows includes illustrative systems, methods,techniques, instruction sequences, and computing machine programproducts that embody illustrative embodiments. In the followingdescription, for purposes of explanation, numerous specific details areset forth in order to provide an understanding of various embodiments ofthe inventive subject matter. It will be evident, however, to thoseskilled in the art, that embodiments of the inventive subject matter maybe practiced without these specific details. In general, well-knowninstruction instances, protocols, structures, and techniques have notbeen shown in detail.

The present disclosure is, in example embodiments, directed to systemsand methods for displaying popular price ranges in a search experience.One of the challenges in offering items for sale through a publicationsystem such as an electronic marketplace is that users may not have hadany specific price points or ranges in mind when searching for a goodand/or service. When a user is presented with a large assortment ofoffered goods and/or services, the user may have to use a considerableamount of time and energy to find typical or popular price ranges forany given good or service. Furthermore, with the large assortment ofgoods or services that may be available through the electronicmarketplace, it may be technically difficult for a user to determinetypical or popular price ranges for any given good or service. Thus, thepresent disclosure provides a system and methodology for dynamicallydetermining popular price ranges for one or more items based on one ormore received search queries.

The methods or embodiments disclosed herein may be implemented as acomputer system having one or more modules (e.g., hardware modules orsoftware modules). Such modules may be executed by one or moreprocessors of the computer system. The methods or embodiments disclosedherein may be embodied as instructions stored on a machine-readablemedium that, when executed by one or more processors, cause the one ormore processors to execute the instructions.

FIG. 1 is a network diagram depicting a client-server system 100according to aspects of the disclosure. A networked system 102, in theexample forms of a network-based marketplace or publication system,provides server-side functionality, via a network 104 (e.g., theInternet or a Wide Area Network (WAN)) to one or more client machines.FIG. 1 illustrates, for example, a web client 106 (e.g., a browser, suchas the Internet Explorer browser developed by Microsoft Corporation ofRedmond, Wash. State) and a programmatic client 108 executing onrespective client machines 110 and 112.

An Application Program Interface (API) server 114 and a web server 116are coupled to, and provide programmatic and web interfaces respectivelyto, one or more application servers 118. The application server(s) 118host one or more applications, such as a marketplace system(s) 120, apayment system(s) 122, and one or more dynamic price range determinationsystems 132. The application server(s) 118 are, in turn, shown to becoupled to one or more database servers 124 that facilitate access toone or more databases 126.

The marketplace system(s) 120 may provide a number of marketplacefunctions and services to users who access the networked system 102. Thepayment system(s) 122 may likewise provide a number of payment servicesand functions to users. The payment system(s) 122 may allow users toaccumulate value (e.g., in a commercial currency, such as the U.S.dollar, or a proprietary currency, such as “points”) in accounts, andthen later to redeem the accumulated value for products (e.g., goods orservices) that are made available via the marketplace system(s) 120.

The application server(s) 118 may also include one or more dynamic pricerange determination system(s) 132 to dynamically determine popular priceranges for one or more items based on one or more received searchqueries. In one embodiment, the dynamic price range determinationsystem(s) 132 may determine one or more popular price ranges for itemsrelated to a given search query. In an alternative embodiment, thedynamic price range system(s) 132 and the marketplace system(s) 120 canbe included in the same system.

As discussed further below, the price ranges and price points may becollected from one or more sources, such as items being offered for salethrough the electronic marketplace, items being offered at auctionshosted by the electronic marketplace, items having been previously soldthrough the electronic marketplace, external sources (e.g.,application-programming interfaces to other electronic marketplaces),and other such sources. Thus, when a search query is received for itemsbeing offered for sale through the electronic marketplace, theapplication server(s) 118 provide one or more price ranges for theprices of search results that correspond to the received search query.Furthermore, the dynamic price range determination system(s) 132 maycontinuously or intermittently determine the popular price ranges orprice points using recently collected data, which provides a measure ofconfidence to the user that he or she is receiving the most currentlyavailable pricing information.

While the marketplace system(s) 120, the payment system(s) 122, and thedynamic price range determination system(s) 132 are shown in FIG. 1 toform part of the networked system 102, it will be appreciated that, inalternative embodiments, the applications 120, 122, and 132 may beseparate or distinct from the system 102. For example, the paymentsystem(s) 122 may form part of a payment service that is separate anddistinct from the networked system 102.

Further, while the system 100 shown in FIG. 1 employs a client-serverarchitecture, the embodiments are of course not limited to such anarchitecture, and could equally well find application in a distributed,or peer-to-peer, architecture system, for example. The marketplacesystem(s) 120, the payment system(s) 122, and the dynamic price rangedetermination system(s) 132 could also be implemented as standalonesoftware programs, which do not necessarily have networkingcapabilities.

The web client 106 may access the marketplace system(s) 120, the paymentsystem(s) 122, and the dynamic price range determination system(s) 132via the web interface supported by the web server 116. Similarly, theprogrammatic client 108 may access the various services and functionsprovided by the applications 120, 122, and 132 via the programmaticinterface provided by the API server 114. The programmatic client 108may, for example, be a seller application (e.g., the TurboListerapplication developed by eBay Inc., of San Jose, Calif.) to enablesellers to author and manage listings on the networked system 102 in anoff-line manner, and to perform batch-mode communications between theprogrammatic client 108 and the networked system 102.

FIG. 1 also illustrates a third party application 128, executing on athird party server 130, as having programmatic access to the networkedsystem 102 via the programmatic interface provided by the API server114. For example, the third party application 128 may, utilizinginformation retrieved from the networked system 102, support one or morefeatures or functions on a website hosted by the third party. The thirdparty website may, for example, provide one or more promotional,marketplace, payment, or advertising functions that are supported by therelevant applications of the networked system 102.

The networked system 102 may provide a number of publishing, listing,and price-setting mechanisms whereby a seller may list (or publishinformation concerning) goods or services for sale, a buyer can expressinterest in or indicate a desire to purchase such goods or services, anda price can be set for a transaction pertaining to the goods orservices.

FIG. 2 illustrates exemplary applications that may be executable by theforegoing application server(s) 118 to support the aforementionedmechanisms. To this end, the marketplace application 120 and the paymentapplication 122 are shown to include at least one publicationapplication 200 and one or more auction applications 202, which supportauction-format listing and price setting mechanisms (e.g., English,Dutch, Vickrey, Chinese, Double, Reverse auctions). The various auctionapplications 202 may also provide a number of features in support ofsuch auction-format listings, such as a reserve price feature whereby aseller may specify a reserve price in connection with a listing and aproxy-bidding feature whereby a bidder may invoke automated proxybidding.

A number of fixed-price applications 204 support fixed-price listingformats (e.g., the traditional classified advertisement-type listing ora catalogue listing) and buyout-type listings. Specifically, buyout-typelistings (e.g., including the Buy-It-Now (BIN) technology developed byeBay Inc., of San Jose, Calif.) may be offered in conjunction withauction-format listings, and allow a buyer to purchase goods orservices, which are also being offered for sale via an auction, for afixed-price that is typically higher than the starting price of theauction.

Store applications 206 allow a seller to group listings within a“virtual” store, which may be branded and otherwise personalized by andfor the seller. Such a virtual store may also offer promotions,incentives, and features that are specific and personalized to arelevant seller.

Reputation applications 208 allow users who transact, utilizing thenetworked system 102, to establish, build, and maintain reputations,which may be made available and published to potential trading partners.Consider that where, for example, the networked system 102 supportsperson-to-person trading, users may otherwise have no history or otherreference information whereby the trustworthiness and credibility ofpotential trading partners may be assessed. The reputation applications208 allow a user (e.g., through feedback provided by other transactionpartners) to establish a reputation within the networked system 102 overtime. Other potential trading partners may then reference such areputation for the purposes of assessing credibility andtrustworthiness.

Personalization applications 210 allow users of the networked system 102to personalize various aspects of their interactions with the networkedsystem 102. For example a user may, utilizing one of the appropriatepersonalization applications 210, create a personalized reference pageon which information regarding transactions to which the user is (or hasbeen) a party may be viewed. Further, one of the personalizationapplications 210 may enable a user to personalize listings and otheraspects of their interactions with the networked system 102 and otherparties.

The networked system 102 may support a number of marketplaces that arecustomized, for example, for specific geographic regions. A version ofthe networked system 102 may be customized for the United Kingdom,whereas another version of the networked system 102 may be customizedfor the United States. Each of these versions may operate as anindependent marketplace or may be customized (or internationalized)presentations of a common underlying marketplace. The networked system102 may, accordingly, include a number of internationalizationapplications 212 that customize information (and/or the presentation ofinformation) by the networked system 102 according to predeterminedcriteria (e.g., geographic, demographic, or marketplace criteria). Forexample, the internationalization applications 212 may be used tosupport the customization of information for a number of regionalwebsites that are operated by the networked system 102 and that areaccessible via web server 116.

Navigation of the networked system 102 may be facilitated by one or morenavigation applications 214. For example, a search application (as anexample for one of the navigation applications 214) may enable key wordsearches of listings published via the networked system 102. A browseapplication may allow users to browse various category, catalogue, orinventory data structures according to which listings may be classifiedwithin the networked system 102. Various others of the navigationapplications 214 may be provided to supplement the search and browsingapplications.

In order to make the listings available via the networked system 102 asvisually informing and attractive as possible, the applications 120 and122 may include one or more imaging applications 216, which users mayutilize to upload images for inclusion within listings. The imagingapplications 216 also operate to incorporate images within viewedlistings. The imaging applications 216 may also support one or morepromotional features, such as image galleries that are presented topotential buyers. For example, sellers may pay an additional fee to havean image included within a gallery of images for promoted items.

Listing creation applications 218 allow sellers to conveniently authorlistings pertaining to goods or services that they wish to transact viathe networked system 102, and listing management applications 220 allowsellers to manage such listings. Specifically, where a particular sellerhas authored and/or published a large number of listings, the managementof such listings may present a challenge. The listing managementapplications 220 provide a number of features (e.g., auto-relisting,inventory level monitors) to assist the seller in managing suchlistings. One or more post-listing management applications 222 alsoassist sellers with a number of activities that typically occurpost-listing. For example, upon completion of an auction facilitated byone or more auction applications 202, a seller may wish to leavefeedback regarding a particular buyer. To this end, one or morepost-listing management applications 222 may provide an interface to oneor more reputation applications 208, so as to allow the seller toconveniently provide feedback regarding multiple buyers to thereputation applications 208.

Dispute resolution applications 224 provide mechanisms whereby disputesarising between transacting parties may be resolved. For example, thedispute resolution applications 224 may provide guided procedureswhereby the parties are guided through a number of steps in an attemptto settle a dispute. In the event that the dispute cannot be settled viathe guided procedures, the dispute may be escalated to a third partymediator or arbitrator.

A number of fraud prevention applications 226 implement fraud detectionand prevention mechanisms to reduce the occurrence of fraud within thenetworked system 102.

Messaging applications 228 are responsible for the generation anddelivery of messages to users of the networked system 102, such as, forexample, messages advising users regarding the status of listings at thenetworked system 102 (e.g., providing “outbid” notices to bidders duringan auction process or to providing promotional and merchandisinginformation to users). Respective messaging applications 228 may utilizeany one of a number of message delivery networks and platforms todeliver messages to users. For example, messaging applications 228 maydeliver electronic mail (e-mail), instant message (IM), Short MessageService (SMS), text, facsimile, or voice (e.g., Voice over IP (VoIP))messages via the wired (e.g., the Internet), Plain Old Telephone Service(POTS), or wireless (e.g., mobile, cellular, WiFi, WiMAX) networks.

Merchandising applications 230 support various merchandising functionsthat are made available to sellers to enable sellers to increase salesvia the networked system 102. The merchandising applications 230 alsooperate the various merchandising features that may be invoked bysellers, and may monitor and track the success of merchandisingstrategies employed by sellers.

The networked system 102 itself, or one or more parties that transactvia the networked system 102, may operate loyalty programs that aresupported by one or more loyalty/promotions applications 232. Forexample, a buyer may earn loyalty or promotion points for eachtransaction established or concluded with a particular seller, and maybe offered a reward for which accumulated loyalty points can beredeemed.

Furthermore, and referring back to FIG. 1, the dynamic price rangedetermination system(s) 132 may leverage one or more of the applications200-232 in dynamically determining popular price ranges for one or moreitems based on one or more received search queries and for providing ameaningful display of this information. In other words, the dynamicprice range determination system(s) 132 may invoke or use data gatheredby the applications 200-232 in determining popular price ranges and/orpoints for a given search query, and which listings are ultimatelydisplayed to the user as popular price ranges. For example, the dynamicprice range determination system(s) 132 may obtain one or more searchqueries via the navigation application(s) 214, and prices for thevarious listings via the auction application(s) 202 and/or thefixed-price application(s) 204. The dynamic price range determinationsystem(s) 132 may also access other applications shown in FIG. 2, suchas the store application(s) 206, to obtain prices for items that werepreviously sold.

As the dynamic price determination system(s) 132 may be integrated(e.g., directly or indirectly) with the application server(s) 118, thedynamic price range determination system(s) 132 may leverage the dataobtained from the applications 200-232 and provide relatively up-to-dateor current price ranges for items being offered through the electronicmarketplace. This integration may further extend to the one or moredatabase server(s) 124 or database(s) 126 in communication with theapplication server(s) 118. As discussed below, the dynamic price rangedetermination system(s) 132 may access stored information, such assession logs, to dynamically determine popular price ranges for one ormore items based on one or more received search queries.

FIG. 3 illustrates one example for one of the client machines 110, inaccordance with aspects of the disclosure. In one embodiment, the clientmachine 110 may be a mobile device. The mobile device may include aprocessor 302. The processor 302 may be any of a variety of differenttypes of commercially available processors suitable for mobile devices(e.g., an ARM architecture microprocessor, a Microprocessor withoutInterlocked Pipeline Stages (MIPS) architecture processor, or anothertype of processor). A memory 304, such as a random access memory (RAM),a Flash memory, or other type of memory, is typically accessible to theprocessor 302. The memory 304 may be adapted to store an operatingsystem 306, as well as application programs 308, such as a mobilelocation enabled application that can provide location-based services toa user. The processor 302 may be coupled, either directly or viaappropriate intermediary hardware, to a display 310 and to one or moreinput/output (I/O) devices 312, such as a keypad, a touch panel sensor,a microphone, and the like. In some embodiments, display 310 comprises atouchscreen display capable of functioning as an I/O device. Similarly,in some embodiments, the processor 302 can be coupled to a transceiver314 that interfaces with an antenna 316. The transceiver 314 may beconfigured to both transmit and receive cellular network signals,wireless data signals, or other types of signals via the antenna 316,depending on the nature of the client machine 110. Further, in someconfigurations, a Global Positioning Satellite GPS receiver 318 may alsomake use of the antenna 316 to receive GPS signals.

The applications 308 of the client machine 110 may further include oneor more browser applications, such as mobile browser applications, whichmay be used to provide a user interface to permit the user to browseinformation available over the network interface. The applications 308may further include one or more provider-specific mobile applications(alternatively referred to herein as “mobile apps”), downloaded (e.g.,downloaded by the user from a mobile software distribution platform) andresident on the client machine 110, that enable the user to accesscontent through the mobile app in addition to said mobile browserapplication.

As referred to herein, mobile browsers and mobile apps may describecomputer programs designed to run specifically on mobile devices such assmartphones, tablet computers, other handheld computing devices, etc.Mobile browsers and mobile apps may be designed with consideration tothe constraints (e.g., low-power processors, limited memory) andfeatures (e.g., location identification capabilities using geo-locationsensors, integrated cellular telephone connectivity) of mobile devices.Mobile browsers and mobile apps may also implement mobile user interface(UI) designs that consider constraints of the screen size of the display310, touchscreen capabilities of the display 310, and the like.

Certain embodiments are described herein as including logic or a numberof components, modules, or mechanisms. Modules may constitute eithersoftware modules (e.g., code embodied on a machine-readable medium or ina transmission signal) or hardware modules. A hardware module is atangible unit capable of performing certain operations and may beconfigured or arranged in a certain manner. In example embodiments, oneor more computer systems (e.g., a standalone, client, or server computersystem) or one or more hardware modules of a computer system (e.g., aprocessor or a group of processors) may be configured by software (e.g.,an application or application portion) as a hardware module thatoperates to perform certain operations as described herein.

In various embodiments, a hardware module may be implementedmechanically or electronically. For example, a hardware module maycomprise dedicated circuitry or logic that is permanently configured(e.g., as a special-purpose processor, such as a field programmable gatearray (FPGA) or an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC)) toperform certain operations. A hardware module may also compriseprogrammable logic or circuitry (e.g., as encompassed within ageneral-purpose processor or other programmable processor) that istemporarily configured by software to perform certain operations. Itwill be appreciated that the decision to implement a hardware modulemechanically, in dedicated and permanently configured circuitry, or intemporarily configured circuitry (e.g., configured by software) may bedriven by cost and time considerations.

Accordingly, the term “hardware module” should be understood toencompass a tangible entity, be that an entity that is physicallyconstructed, permanently configured (e.g., hardwired) or temporarilyconfigured (e.g., programmed) to operate in a certain manner or toperform certain operations described herein. Considering embodiments inwhich hardware modules are temporarily configured (e.g., programmed),each of the hardware modules need not be configured or instantiated atany one instance in time. For example, where the hardware modulescomprise a general-purpose processor configured using software, thegeneral-purpose processor may be configured as respective differenthardware modules at different times. Software may accordingly configurea processor, for example, to constitute a particular hardware module atone instance of time and to constitute a different hardware module at adifferent instance of time.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating components of a machine 400,according to some example embodiments, able to read instructions from amachine-readable medium (e.g., a machine-readable storage medium) andperform any one or more of the methodologies discussed herein accordingto aspects of the disclosure. Specifically, FIG. 4 shows a diagrammaticrepresentation of the machine 400 in the example form of a computersystem, within which instructions 416 (e.g., software, a program, anapplication, an applet, an app, or other executable code) for causingthe machine 400 to perform any one or more of the methodologiesdiscussed herein may be executed. For example the instructions may causethe machine to execute the flow diagrams of FIG. 6 and FIGS. 11A-11C(discussed in further detail below). Additionally, or alternatively, theinstructions may implement the dynamic price range determination modulesdiscussed herein, and so forth. The instructions transform the general,non-programmed machine into a particular machine programmed to carry outthe described and illustrated functions in the manner described. Inalternative embodiments, the machine 400 operates as a standalone deviceor may be coupled (e.g., networked) to other machines. In a networkeddeployment, the machine 400 may operate in the capacity of a servermachine or a client machine in a server-client network environment, oras a peer machine in a peer-to-peer (or distributed) networkenvironment. The machine 400 may comprise, but not be limited to, aserver computer, a client computer, a personal computer (PC), a tabletcomputer, a laptop computer, a netbook, a set-top box (STB), a personaldigital assistant (PDA), an entertainment media system, a cellulartelephone, a smart phone, a mobile device, a wearable device (e.g., asmart watch), a smart home device (e.g., a smart appliance), other smartdevices, a web appliance, a network router, a network switch, a networkbridge, or any machine capable of executing the instructions 416,sequentially or otherwise, that specify actions to be taken by machine400. Further, while only a single machine 400 is illustrated, the term“machine” shall also be taken to include a collection of machines 400that individually or jointly execute the instructions 416 to perform anyone or more of the methodologies discussed herein.

The machine 400 may include processors 410, memory 430, and I/Ocomponents 450, which may be configured to communicate with each othersuch as via a bus 402. In an example embodiment, the processors 410(e.g., a Central Processing Unit (CPU), a Reduced Instruction SetComputing (RISC) processor, a Complex Instruction Set Computing (CISC)processor, a Graphics Processing Unit (GPU), a Digital Signal Processor(DSP), an ASIC, a Radio-Frequency Integrated Circuit (RFIC), anotherprocessor, or any suitable combination thereof) may include, forexample, processor 412 and processor 414 that may execute instructions416. The term “processor” is intended to include a multi-core processorthat may comprise two or more independent processors (sometimes referredto as “cores”) that may execute instructions contemporaneously. AlthoughFIG. 4 shows multiple processors, the machine 400 may include a singleprocessor with a single core, a single processor with multiple cores(e.g., a multi-core process), multiple processors with a single core,multiple processors with multiples cores, or any combination thereof.

The memory/storage 430 may include a memory 432, such as a main memory,or other memory storage, and a storage unit 436, both accessible to theprocessors 410 such as via the bus 402. The storage unit 436 and memory432 store the instructions 416 embodying any one or more of the dynamicprice range determination methodologies or functions described herein.The instructions 416 may also reside, completely or partially, withinthe memory 432, within the storage unit 436, within at least one of theprocessors 410 (e.g., within the processor's cache memory), or anysuitable combination thereof, during execution thereof by the machine400. Accordingly, the memory 432, the storage unit 436, and the memoryof processors 410 are examples of machine-readable media.

As used herein, “machine-readable medium” means a device able to storeinstructions and data temporarily or permanently and may include, but isnot be limited to, RAM, read-only memory (ROM), buffer memory, flashmemory, optical media, magnetic media, cache memory, other types ofstorage (e.g., Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory (EEPROM)) and/orany suitable combination thereof. The term “machine-readable medium”should be taken to include a single medium or multiple media (e.g., acentralized or distributed database, or associated caches and servers)able to store instructions 416. The term “machine-readable medium” shallalso be taken to include any medium, or combination of multiple media,that is capable of storing instructions (e.g., instructions 416) forexecution by a machine (e.g., machine 400), such that the instructions,when executed by one or more processors of the machine 400 (e.g.,processors 410), cause the machine 400 to perform any one or more of themethodologies described herein. Accordingly, a “machine-readable medium”refers to a single storage apparatus or device, as well as “cloud-based”storage systems or storage networks that include multiple storageapparatus or devices. The term “machine-readable medium” excludessignals per se.

The I/O components 450 may include a wide variety of components toreceive input, provide output, produce output, transmit information,exchange information, capture measurements, and so on. The specific I/Ocomponents 450 that are included in a particular machine will depend onthe type of machine. For example, portable machines such as mobilephones will likely include a touch input device or other such inputmechanisms, while a headless server machine will likely not include sucha touch input device. It will be appreciated that the I/O components 450may include many other components that are not shown in FIG. 4. The I/Ocomponents 450 are grouped according to functionality merely forsimplifying the following discussion and the grouping is in no waylimiting. In various example embodiments, the I/O components 450 mayinclude output components 452 and input components 454. The outputcomponents 452 may include visual components (e.g., a display such as aplasma display panel (PDP), a light emitting diode (LED) display, aliquid crystal display (LCD), a projector, or a cathode ray tube (CRT)),acoustic components (e.g., speakers), haptic components (e.g., avibratory motor, resistance mechanisms), other signal generators, and soforth. The input components 454 may include alphanumeric inputcomponents (e.g., a keyboard, a touch screen configured to receivealphanumeric input, a photo-optical keyboard, or other alphanumericinput components), point based input components (e.g., a mouse, atouchpad, a trackball, a joystick, a motion sensor, or other pointinginstrument), tactile input components (e.g., a physical button, a touchscreen that provides location and/or force of touches or touch gestures,or other tactile input components), audio input components (e.g., amicrophone), and the like.

In further example embodiments, the I/O components 450 may includebiometric components 456, motion components 458, environmentalcomponents 460, or position components 462 among a wide array of othercomponents. For example, the biometric components 456 may includecomponents to detect expressions (e.g., hand expressions, facialexpressions, vocal expressions, body gestures, or eye tracking), measurebiosignals (e.g., blood pressure, heart rate, body temperature,perspiration, or brain waves), identify a person (e.g., voiceidentification, retinal identification, facial identification,fingerprint identification, or electroencephalogram basedidentification), and the like. The motion components 458 may includeacceleration sensor components (e.g., accelerometer), gravitation sensorcomponents, rotation sensor components (e.g., gyroscope), and so forth.The environmental components 460 may include, for example, illuminationsensor components (e.g., photometer), temperature sensor components(e.g., one or more thermometer that detect ambient temperature),humidity sensor components, pressure sensor components (e.g.,barometer), acoustic sensor components (e.g., one or more microphonesthat detect background noise), proximity sensor components (e.g.,infrared sensors that detect nearby objects), gas sensors (e.g., gasdetection sensors to detection concentrations of hazardous gases forsafety or to measure pollutants in the atmosphere), or other componentsthat may provide indications, measurements, or signals corresponding toa surrounding physical environment. The position components 462 mayinclude location sensor components (e.g., a GPS receiver component),altitude sensor components (e.g., altimeters or barometers that detectair pressure from which altitude may be derived), orientation sensorcomponents (e.g., magnetometers), and the like.

Communication may be implemented using a wide variety of technologies.The I/O components 450 may include communication components 464 operableto couple the machine 400 to a network 480 or devices 470 via coupling482 and coupling 472, respectively. For example, the communicationcomponents 464 may include a network interface component or othersuitable device to interface with the network 480. In further examples,communication components 464 may include wired communication components,wireless communication components, cellular communication components,Near Field Communication (NFC) components, Bluetooth® components (e.g.,Bluetooth® Low Energy), Wi-Fi® components, and other communicationcomponents to provide communication via other modalities. The devices470 may be another machine or any of a wide variety of peripheraldevices (e.g., a peripheral device coupled via a Universal Serial Bus(USB)).

Moreover, the communication components 464 may detect identifiers orinclude components operable to detect identifiers. For example, thecommunication components 464 may include Radio Frequency Identification(RFID) tag reader components, NFC smart tag detection components,optical reader components (e.g., an optical sensor to detectone-dimensional bar codes such as Universal Product Code (UPC) bar code,multi-dimensional bar codes such as Quick Response (QR) code, Azteccode, Data Matrix, Dataglyph, MaxiCode, PDF417, Ultra Code, UCC RSS-2Dbar code, and other optical codes), or acoustic detection components(e.g., microphones to identify tagged audio signals). In addition, avariety of information may be derived via the communication components464, such as, location via Internet Protocol (IP) geo-location, locationvia Wi-Fi® signal triangulation, location via detecting a NFC beaconsignal that may indicate a particular location, and so forth.

In various example embodiments, one or more portions of the network 480may be an ad hoc network, an intranet, an extranet, a virtual privatenetwork (VPN), a local area network (LAN), a wireless LAN (WLAN), a WAN,a wireless WAN (WWAN), a metropolitan area network (MAN), the Internet,a portion of the Internet, a portion of the Public Switched TelephoneNetwork (PSTN), a plain old telephone service (POTS) network, a cellulartelephone network, a wireless network, a Wi-Fi® network, another type ofnetwork, or a combination of two or more such networks. For example, thenetwork 480 or a portion of the network 480 may include a wireless orcellular network and the coupling 482 may be a Code Division MultipleAccess (CDMA) connection, a Global System for Mobile communications(GSM) connection, or other type of cellular or wireless coupling. Inthis example, the coupling 482 may implement any of a variety of typesof data transfer technology, such as Single Carrier Radio TransmissionTechnology (1×RTT), Evolution-Data Optimized (EVDO) technology, GeneralPacket Radio Service (GPRS) technology, Enhanced Data rates for GSMEvolution (EDGE) technology, third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP)including 3G, fourth generation wireless (4G) networks, Universal MobileTelecommunications System (UMTS), High Speed Packet Access (HSPA),Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX), Long TermEvolution (LTE) standard, others defined by various standard settingorganizations, other long range protocols, or other data transfertechnology.

The instructions 416 may be transmitted or received over the network 480using a transmission medium via a network interface device (e.g., anetwork interface component included in the communication components464) and utilizing any one of a number of well-known transfer protocols(e.g., hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP)). Similarly, the instructions416 may be transmitted or received using a transmission medium via thecoupling 472 (e.g., a peer-to-peer coupling) to devices 470. The term“transmission medium” shall be taken to include any intangible mediumthat is capable of storing, encoding, or carrying instructions 416 forexecution by the machine 400, and includes digital or analogcommunications signals or other intangible medium to facilitatecommunication of such software.

FIG. 5A is a block diagram 500 illustrating a representative softwarearchitecture 502, which may be used in conjunction with various hardwarearchitectures herein described. FIG. 5A is merely a non-limiting exampleof a software architecture and it will be appreciated that many otherarchitectures may be implemented to facilitate the functionalitydescribed herein. The software architecture 502 may be executing onhardware such as machine 400 of FIG. 4 that includes, among otherthings, processors 410, memory 430, and I/O components 450. Arepresentative hardware layer 504 is illustrated and can represent, forexample, the machine 400 of FIG. 4. The representative hardware layer504 comprises one or more processing units 506 having associatedexecutable instructions 508. Executable instructions 508 represent theexecutable instructions of the software architecture 502, includingimplementation of the methods, modules and so forth discussed herein.Hardware layer 504 also includes memory and/or storage modules 510,which also have executable instructions 508. Hardware layer 504 may alsocomprise other hardware as indicated by 512, which represents any otherhardware of the hardware layer 504, such as the other hardwareillustrated as part of machine 400.

In the example architecture of FIG. 5, the software architecture 502 maybe conceptualized as a stack of layers where each layer providesparticular functionality. For example, the software architecture 502 mayinclude layers such as an operating system 514, libraries 516,frameworks/middleware 518, applications 520, and presentation layer 544.Operationally, the applications 520 and/or other components within thelayers may invoke API calls 524 through the software stack and receive aresponse, returned values, and so forth illustrated as messages 526 inresponse to the API calls 524. The layers illustrated are representativein nature and not all software architectures have all layers. Forexample, some mobile or special purpose operating systems may notprovide a frameworks/middleware layer 518, while others may provide sucha layer. Other software architectures may include additional ordifferent layers.

The operating system 514 may manage hardware resources and providecommon services. The operating system 514 may include, for example, akernel 528, services 530, and drivers 532. The kernel 528 may act as anabstraction layer between the hardware and the other software layers.For example, the kernel 528 may be responsible for memory management,processor management (e.g., scheduling), component management,networking, security settings, and so on. The services 530 may provideother common services for the other software layers. The drivers 532 maybe responsible for controlling or interfacing with the underlyinghardware. For instance, the drivers 532 may include display drivers,camera drivers, Bluetooth® drivers, flash memory drivers, serialcommunication drivers (e.g., USB drivers), Wi-Fi® drivers, audiodrivers, power management drivers, and so forth depending on thehardware configuration.

The libraries 516 may provide a common infrastructure that may beutilized by the applications 520 and/or other components and/or layers.The libraries 516 typically provide functionality that allows othersoftware modules to perform tasks in an easier fashion than to interfacedirectly with the underlying operating system 514 functionality (e.g.,kernel 528, services 530 and/or drivers 532). The libraries 516 mayinclude system 534 libraries (e.g., C standard library) that may providefunctions such as memory allocation functions, string manipulationfunctions, mathematic functions, and the like. In addition, thelibraries 516 may include API libraries 536 such as media libraries(e.g., libraries to support presentation and manipulation of variousmedia format such as MPREG4, H.264, MP3, AAC, AMR, JPG, PNG), graphicslibraries (e.g., an OpenGL framework that may be used to render 2D and3D in a graphic content on a display), database libraries (e.g., SQLitethat may provide various relational database functions), web libraries(e.g., WebKit that may provide web browsing functionality), and thelike. The libraries 516 may also include a wide variety of otherlibraries 538 to provide many other APIs to the applications 520 andother software components/modules.

The frameworks 518 (also sometimes referred to as middleware) mayprovide a higher-level common infrastructure that may be utilized by theapplications 520 and/or other software components/modules. For example,the frameworks 518 may provide various graphic user interface (GUI)functions, high-level resource management, high-level location services,and so forth. The frameworks 518 may provide a broad spectrum of otherAPIs that may be utilized by the applications 520 and/or other softwarecomponents/modules, some of which may be specific to a particularoperating system or platform.

The applications 520 include built-in applications 540 and/or thirdparty applications 542. Examples of representative built-in applications540 may include, but are not limited to, a contacts application, abrowser application, a book reader application, a location application,a media application, a messaging application, or a game application.Third party applications 542 may include any of the built inapplications as well as a broad assortment of other applications. In aspecific example, the third party application 542 (e.g., an applicationdeveloped using the Android™ or iOS™ software development kit (SDK) byan entity other than the vendor of the particular platform) may bemobile software running on a mobile operating system such as iOS™,Android™, Windows® Phone, or other mobile operating systems. In thisexample, the third party application 542 may invoke the API calls 524provided by the mobile operating system such as operating system 514 tofacilitate functionality described herein.

The applications 520 may utilize built in operating system functions(e.g., kernel 528, services 530 and/or drivers 532), libraries (e.g.,system 534, APIs 536, and other libraries 538), andframeworks/middleware 518 to create user interfaces to interact withusers of the system. Alternatively, or additionally, in some systems,interactions with a user may occur through a presentation layer, such aspresentation layer 544. In these systems, the application/module “logic”can be separated from the aspects of the application/module thatinteract with a user.

Some software architectures utilize virtual machines. In the example ofFIG. 5, this is illustrated by virtual machine 548. A virtual machinecreates a software environment where applications/modules can execute asif they were executing on a hardware machine (e.g., the machine of FIG.4). A virtual machine is hosted by a host operating system (operatingsystem 514 in FIG. 4) and typically, although not always, has a virtualmachine monitor 546, which manages the operation of the virtual machineas well as the interface with the host operating system (e.g., operatingsystem 514). A software architecture executes within the virtual machinesuch as an operating system 550, libraries 552, frameworks/middleware554, applications 556, or presentation layer 558. These layers ofsoftware architecture executing within the virtual machine 548 can bethe same as corresponding layers previously described or may bedifferent.

FIG. 5A illustrates modules 501 that may be included in any combinationof the applications 520, the firmware/middleware 518, the libraries 516,and the operating system 514.

FIG. 5B a block diagram illustrating components of the module(s) 501,according to aspects of the disclosure. The dynamic price rangedetermination module(s) 501 may include one or more components(described in this example as “engines”) that select or dynamicallydetermine popular price ranges for one or more items based on one ormore received search queries. The dynamic price range determinationmodule(s) 501 may also include one or more engines that determinepopular price ranges corresponding to determined price quantiles and thelistings that are used to populate the items associated with these priceranges. In one embodiment, the dynamic price range determinationmodule(s) 501 may include a price point computation engine 562, aquery/popular price range lookup engine 564, a search results and pricerange histogram engine 566, a query/popular price range storage engine568, a product listings search engine 570, a display engine 572, and apopular price range computation engine 574.

Data 503 may be included in the memory/storage 510 and may includevarious types of information used in determining and associating pricequantiles with received search queries. In one embodiment, the data 503may include user session logs 576, price points 578, user search queries580, and price ranges 582. Although the dynamic price rangedetermination module(s) 501 and data 503 are shown as including separateengines and information, it should be understood that the dynamic pricerange determination module(s) 501and data 503 may include alternativearrangements, such as more or fewer engines or data.

The price point computation engine 562 is configured to determine whichprice points to use in dynamically determining popular price ranges forone or more items based on one or more received search queries. Thesources of the price points may vary and may include prices for listingshosted by the electronic marketplace (e.g., the prices obtainable viathe auction application(s) 202 or fixed-price application(s) 204),prices for previously sold items, price for items hosted by otherelectronic marketplaces, and other such sources.

In one embodiment, the price point computation engine 562 obtains pricepoints from listings currently being offered or final bid prices forauction based item listings (as described in further detail below). Asdiscussed below, the price point computation engine 562 operates inconjunction with the product listings search engine 570 to obtain thelistings from which the price points may be extracted. When one or moresearch results are presented to a user in response to a given searchquery, the price point computation engine 562 monitors which results theuser selects. The prices associated with the one or more search resultsthat the user selects forms the basis for the price points to be used inthe determination of the various price quantiles. Alternatively, or inaddition, the price point computation engine 562 uses the prices oflistings obtained from the search query regardless of whether a givenlisting is selected by a user. Furthermore, while the price pointcomputation engine 562 may obtain prices in a real-time, or in a nearreal-time manner (e.g., as search queries are received and as searchresults are provided), the price point computation engine 562 mayreference other sources of information for the price points, such as theuser session logs 576 where user session data (e.g. search queries,search results, search result selections) may be temporarily stored.

In addition, the price point computation engine 562 may process pricesdifferently depending on the listing associated with the price such asauction listings, fixed-price listings, new listings, used listings, andother such listings. Where a listing is an auction listing, the pricepoint computation engine 562 may monitor the auction until it completesor closes. When the auction completes or closes, the price pointcomputation engine 562 uses the price of the offered item or service atclosing. Where the listing is a fixed-price listing, the price pointcomputation engine 562 uses the price associated with the fixed-pricelisting as the price point. Furthermore, the price point computationengine 562 may employ a weighting factor to further distinguish pricepoints from one another. For example, a price associated with a newlisting may be weighted differently than a price associated with a usedlisting. Similarly, a price associated with an auction listing may beweighted differently than a price associated with a new listing. Thus,the price point computation engine 562 is configured to distinguishprices for various listings which, in turn, provides for a more accurateand relevant statistical data set for dynamically determining popularprice ranges for one or more items based on one or more received searchqueries.

Furthermore, the price point computation engine 562 may process pricesassociated with items purchased by a user during the same session inwhich a search query was received. For example, the price pointcomputation engine 562 processes the price of a digital camera where auser searches for digital cameras in a session of use with theelectronic marketplace, and then purchases the digital camera during thesame session. As above, the price point computation engine 562 maydistinguish between prices that are associated with items that a userselected but did not purchase, items that the user selected butpurchased in a later session of use, and items that the user selectedand purchased in the same session.

The price point computation engine 562 may also leverage filters orother refinements a user has selected to a refine a set of searchresults, in processing or determining price points for a given searchquery. For example, when a set of search results is displayed to theuser, the user may also view one or more filters for refining the set ofsearch results. These filters may include physical characteristics ofthe search results (e.g., size, weight, capabilities), manufacturingcharacteristics (e.g., model, manufacturer, style), and pricingcharacteristics. The pricing characteristics may include a manual entryof prices that the user is willing to pay for a given item. The pricingcharacteristics may include a variety of entry mechanisms including aslider, text entry, or other such mechanisms. When a pricingcharacteristic value is provided (e.g., when the user provides a pricevia the pricing characteristic), the price point computation engine 562may associate the provided price as the price point for the receivedsearch query.

While the price point computation engine 562 may leverage the pricesassociated with listings for items currently offered for sale as theprice points in determining the price quantiles, the price pointcomputation engine 562 may also use the prices associated withpreviously sold items. In one embodiment, the price point computationengine 562 invokes the product listings search engine 570 to obtainprices for items previously sold that match the given search query. Theitems previously sold may cover a given timespan (e.g., 60 days, 90days, or other timespan). In an alternative or additional embodiment,the items previously sold may also cover a seasonal pattern. Forexample, the price of a swim suit may vary (e.g., the price may beslightly higher just before the start of summer than in mid-winter), andthe price point computation engine 562 may be configured to capture suchseasonal variations. Thus, the price point computation engine 562 may beconfigured to capture the prices of previously sold items as well as theprices for selected or purchased items in order to provide a moreaccurate reflection of the price quantiles for a given search query.

Finally, price point computation engine 562 may be configured to obtainprices for items matching the given search query from other electronicmarketplaces. In one embodiment, the price point computation engine 562accesses an API for an outside electronic marketplace, which acceptssearch queries and provide search results in response. In thisembodiment, the price point computation engine 562 provides the givensearch query to the API for the outside electronic marketplace, and usesthe prices of the returned search results (if any) as the price pointsto associate with the given search query. Thus, the price pointcomputation engine 562 is configured to obtain a breadth of pricinginformation other than the pricing information available to it viainternal mechanisms (e.g., the marketplace system(s) 120, paymentsystem(s) 122).

Having obtained the various prices or price points, the price pointcomputation engine 562 may store such prices or price points as theprice points 578. Furthermore, the price point computation engine 562may store an association of the price points 578 and their respectivesearch queries which, as explained below, may be stored as user searchqueries 580. Furthermore, the price point computation engine 562 may beconfigured to update or re-determine the price points for a given searchquery at one or more predetermined time intervals (e.g., daily, weekly,monthly). In this manner, the price point computation engine 562 ensuresthat the stored price points 578 are relatively up-to-date or current.

As alluded to above, the product listings search engine 570 isconfigured to obtain listings that match a given search query. Thelistings obtained by the product listings search engine 570 may becurrent listings (e.g., auction listings, fixed price listings),listings that have ended, listings where the item described in thelisting was purchased, listings for used items, listings for new items,and other such listings. The product listings search engine 570communicates with one or more applications, such as the auctionapplication(s) 202, the fixed-price application(s) 204, the storeapplication(s) 206, and other such applications, in obtaining thelistings based on the given search query. In addition, the searchqueries may come from a variety sources, such as from user session logs576 of prior search queries, current search queries from users currentlysearching the electronic marketplace, and combinations thereof. Inaddition, when a search query is received, the product listings searchengine 570 may employ one or more natural language processing techniquesto determine one or more variants of the received search query. Thus,when a search query is received (e.g., “digital camera”), the searchresults may encompass search results from variations of the receivedsearch query (e.g., “optical camera,” “digital SLR camera,” “digitalphotography”). In one embodiment, the product listings search engine 570is configurable as to the degree of variation in the received searchquery.

FIG. 6 illustrates an exemplary logic flow for dynamically determiningpopular price ranges for one or more items based on one or more receivedsearch queries according to aspects of the disclosure. Logical flowdiagrams as illustrated herein provide examples of sequences of variousprocess actions. Although shown in a particular sequence or order,unless otherwise specified, the order of the actions can be modified.Thus, the described and illustrated implementations should be understoodonly as examples, the illustrated processes can be performed in adifferent order, and some actions may be performed in parallel.Additionally, one or more actions can be omitted in various embodiments;thus, not all actions are used in every implementation. Other processflows are possible.

FIG. 6 illustrates a logic flow 600 that includes executing an operationto determine price points for a product search query (block 602).Referring back to FIG. 5B, a storage of user search queries 580 is usedfor receiving the product search query, and a price point computationengine 562 is used to execute the price points determination operationsdescribed below. In an e-commerce marketplace, a search results pageusually leads to one or more clicks on the product listings. In thissense, the clicked product listing(s) provides a good proxy for usersearch queries hat generate a search results page. FIG. 5B illustratesproduct listings search engine 570 used to execute the product listingsearch operations described below.

In some embodiments, based on aggregate user behavior of multiple users(e.g., thousands) over a period of time, a well-suited proxy for asearch query may be defined as a collection of clicked product listings.These product listings may be new items or used items, and may be listedas auctions or as fixed priced items. As described in further detailbelow, the product listings may also have other popular attributes likebrand, color, size, and the like.

For auction listings, the final closing price of the relevant auctionitems may be used as the price points for the search query; for fixedprice listings, the selling price for the fixed priced items may be usedas the price points for the search query. Furthermore, the price pointsmay also be associated not only with the product search query, but alsowith the combination of the product search query and one or moreattributes of the product listings.

In some embodiments, only product listings that were acted upon by usersin the same session as when the search query was issued are used. Someexamples of user actions may include bidding on the product listing,buying it, adding it to the shopping cart, adding it to a wish list,adding it to a collection of listings, sharing it on popular socialnetworks, and communicating with the seller of the listing. FIG. 5Billustrates storage for these user session logs 576.

In some embodiments, the user interface provides price filters forconstraining the search results. These price filters may be displayed,for example, as price ranges, sliders, or free form text boxes in theuser interface. In some embodiments, for a given search query, all theapplied price filters selected by all the users over a period of timeare collected as relevant price points.

Similarly, in other embodiments, the user interface may provide ways toconstrain the search results using additional attribute filters such asbrand, color, size, and so forth. This data may also be collected andutilized for dynamically determining popular price ranges for one ormore items based on one or more received search queries.

Furthermore, some e-commerce marketplaces allow for search through pastsold product listings from the last 30 to 90 days. In some embodiments,for a given search query, these entire past sold product listings arereturned by the search engine to be used as price points. This may befurther extended to a search query in combination with one or moreattribute filters.

Furthermore, some e-commerce sites also allow for programmatic searchAPIs. For any given search query, an external view of the price pointsmay be obtained by searching and logging the returned product listingsof other competitors or third party sites. This may be further extendedto a search query in a combination with one or more attribute filters.

In some embodiments, the scope of the above exemplary processes may beexpanded to include trivial variations of the search query. Trivialvariations could include word transpositions, plural singularvariations, and common misspellings. Furthermore, in some embodiments,the price points from more than one of these processes may be combinedvia simple aggregation or via a weighted linear or via a weightednonlinear aggregation.

An operation to identify one or more popular price ranges for a productsearch query (block 604 of FIG. 6) is executed. FIG. 5B illustrates aquery/popular price range lookup engine 564 to execute the price rangequery operations described below. In some embodiments, using the pricepoints for a given search query, a price quantile distribution iscomputed. The number of quantiles may be fixed or may be dynamicallydetermined.

FIG. 5B further illustrates a popular price range computation engine574. In some embodiments, based on the product or country of the user, afixed set of price quantiles may be used as popular price range for theproduct search query. For example, the price range covering a majority(e.g., 50% to 70%) of the price distribution may be marked as popular.These fixed points may be determined by consultation with businessunits, product management, and outside consulting agencies. They mayalso be determined with user studies or large scale online A/B testing.

In other embodiments, optimal price ranges for price quantiles aredetermined. For example, a utility cost function may be defined thatcomputes the utility of picking a particular price range. This may bebased on a linear or non-linear function using two price quantiles andtwo price values at those price quantiles. All possible price ranges maybe evaluated for the utility, and the price range with the best utilitymay be selected as a popular price range. Furthermore, additionalbusiness constraints that limit the left edge and the right edge of theprice range, and that define the minimum and maximum number of quantilesto cover, may be added to the optimization.

Price range quantiles may be further smoothed out to be multiples ofwell-known currency multipliers (e.g., 1 or 5 or 10 or 50 or 100). Thefinal smoothed out quantiles may be stored as price ranges for the givensearch query. FIG. 5B illustrates a query/popular price range storageengine 568 for storing the price ranges. This may be extended to aproduct search query and combination of one or more product attributes.

An operation to populate the price range listing count at run time(block 606 of FIG. 6) is executed. When a user issues a search query,the previously computed and stored popular price ranges for the querymay be retrieved. These price ranges are passed to the search enginealong with the search query, and the search engine returns the listingscount histogram computed for those price ranges along with the searchresults. FIG. 5B illustrates search results and price range histogramengine 566 used in executing one or more of the operations describedbelow.

An operation to select one or more popular price ranges to be displayedto the user (block 608 of FIG. 6) is executed. For any given productsearch query, several popular price ranges may be available for display,as there may be a general popular price range for the query, and thenspecific popular price ranges that target popular product attributeslike condition (new or used), format (fixed price or auction), brand,size, and the like. To avoid cognitive overload for the user, only alimited number of popular price ranges may be shown in some embodiments;this number may be configurable (e.g., several aspects may be consideredin making the choice of which price ranges to display).

In some embodiments, for any product search query, popularity of productattributes may be ascertained either via block 602 or other methods. Insome of these embodiments, the popular price ranges for the popularproduct attributes corresponding to this product search may beconsidered.

In some of these embodiments, additional consideration may be made basedon the above described inventory histogram; choices with either zero orlow inventory may be dropped from the display. In some of theseembodiments, consideration may be given to explicit user applied filtersin the search user interface. Both conflicting and obvious choices maybe dropped from display, or implicit user applied filters from theproduct search query may be extracted and applied.

An operation to display price ranges to the user (block 610 of FIG. 6)is executed. FIG. 5B illustrates a display engine 572 used to displaythese price ranges to the user. Price ranges may be displayed to theuser in several ways, including simply displaying clickable price rangesthat allow filtering of the search results to that price range, oradditionally displaying a page with product listings count for eachprice range.

FIG. 7 illustrates a web page 702 of a publication system (e.g., anelectronic marketplace) configured to receive search queries for itemsoffered for sale by the electronic marketplace, according to aspects ofthe disclosure. The web page 702 includes an element, such as a textentry box 704, where the user provides a search query to search forlistings offered by the electronic marketplace. Web page 702 andsubsequent exemplary web pages illustrated and described below mayalternatively comprise mobile browser or mobile app implementations inother embodiments.

FIG. 8 illustrates another web page 802 of the electronic marketplacedisplaying search results in response to a received search query 804,according to aspects of the disclosure. As shown in FIG. 8, the searchquery 804 includes a search term such as “digital cameras.” Thedisplayed search results include listings matching the term “digitalcameras,” including listings that match variations of that term. Inaddition, each of the search results are associated with a price, suchas prices 806-812.

As discussed above, embodiments may dynamically determine popular priceranges for one or more items based on one or more received searchqueries. In this embodiment, in response to receiving the search query804, a range of prices 806-812 associated with a subset of the searchresults for the search query 804 is determined. In some embodiments,this range of prices includes a median price for the search results. Forexample, the median price for the search results for the search query804 may be $250. A “popular price range” may comprise a price range fora majority of the search results for the search query 804 (e.g., a rangeincluding the 25^(th) percentile price point to the 75^(th) percentileprice point). In this embodiment, a pop-up window 820 is displayed, witha range of prices associated with the above described price points(e.g., the popular price range displayed comprises 25^(th) percentileprice point $150 and 75^(th) percentile price point $500). In anotherexample, the “popular price range” may be a price range centered on amean price value of the search results for the search query 804 (e.g.,the mean price value+/−a predetermined percentage). Other embodimentsmay determine and display popular price ranges using other processes(e.g., a utility cost function using a plurality of price quantiles andplurality of price values included in different price quantiles).

While popular price ranges are shown in this example (and subsequentexamples) to be displayed in a pop-up window 820, other embodiments maydisplay one or more popular price ranges anywhere else on or over theweb page 802 (e.g., above the “Categories” column).

FIG. 9 illustrates yet another web page 902 of the electronicmarketplace displaying filters 904-912 and corresponding filter valuesfor narrowing the scope of displayed search results according to aspectsof the disclosure. Each of the filters 904-912 may be selectable by theuser in order to narrow the search results of the search query 804. Thefilters 904-912 may include a manufacturing characteristic filter 904(e.g., a brand), one or more physical characteristics filters 906-910(e.g., megapixels, optical zoom ability, condition), and a pricingcharacteristic 912. The pricing characteristic 912 may be configurableby the user to display search results matching a price and/or pricerange entered by the user.

In this example, in response to receiving the filter values selected bythe user (e.g., filters 904, 906, and 908), a pop-up window 930 isdisplayed including a popular price range for the narrowed results ofthe search query 804. In this example, the information identifying theselected filters is included in the pop-up window 930. Furthermore, inthis example, price 914 does not fall within the popular price range,while prices 916-920 do.

Other embodiments may further present a plurality of narrowed popularprice ranges. For example, instead of the pop-up window 930, anotherpop-up window 932 may alternatively be displayed which includes popularprice ranges for “new” and “used” items (e.g., the filter 910 is notselected by the user). In another example, another pop-up window 934 mayalternatively be displayed which includes popular price ranges for fixedprice and auction based items.

In some embodiments, after the price points have been associated with acorresponding search query, and the price quantiles have beendetermined, the display engine 522 of FIG. 5B causes the display of aweb page or other electronic document having one or more price rangescorresponding to the determined price quantiles and associated with thereceived search query. FIG. 10 illustrates a web page 1002 of theelectronic marketplace displaying price ranges 1004-1010 that have beendetermined for a received search query, according to aspects of thedisclosure. As shown in FIG. 10, the price ranges 1004-1010 may includea first price range 1004, a second price range 1006, a third price range1008, and a fourth price range 1010. Moreover, each of the price ranges1004-1010 is selectable by the user, which results in a display ofsearch results having prices corresponding to a selected price range.Furthermore, each of the price ranges 1004-1010 may have a correspondingitem count, which is displayed alongside the respective price range andindicative of the number of items having a price within the respectiverange. In this manner, not only do the selectable price ranges 1004-1010provide a relatively comprehensive view of the prices of items matchinga given search query, they also provide a relatively easy and rapidmechanism for a user to narrow in on a specific range that he or she mayhave in mind. In this example, the third price range 1008 is selectedand a pop-up window 1020 is displayed, and includes a popular pricerange within the (selected) third price range 1008.

FIGS. 11A-11C illustrate exemplary logic flows for dynamicallydetermining popular price ranges for one or more items based on one ormore received search queries according to aspects of the disclosure. Anyone of the logic flows shown in FIGS. 11A-11C may be used in combinationwith, or instead of, any other logic flow shown in FIGS. 11A-11C. Thus,in some embodiments, the disclosed systems may perform one or moremethods that include FIGS. 11A-11C.

FIG. 11A illustrates a logic flow 1100 that includes executing anoperation to receive a search query, from a client machine, for an itemoffered for sale through a publication system (e.g., an electronicmarketplace) (block 1102). An operation to determine a plurality ofsearch results is executed (block 1104), wherein each result isassociated with a price. An operation to determine a popular range ofprices associated with a subset of the search results is executed (block1106). In some embodiments, the popular price range corresponds to anyplurality of items that includes the item associated with the medianprice value for the plurality of search results. For example, thepopular range may correspond to a majority of the search results, or maybe centered on a mean price value of the plurality of search results. Inother embodiments, this subset is determined based on a utility costfunction using a plurality of price quantiles and a plurality of pricevalues included in different price quantiles. Furthermore, the subset ofsearch results may be determined based on any number of factors,including selectable search filters (such as those illustrated in FIG.11B and described below), user history, etc.

An operation to send the search results, and the determined price range,to the client machine for display is executed (block 1108). In someembodiments, any combination of process logic flow 1110 and logic flow1120 is also executed.

FIG. 11B illustrates logic flow 1110 that includes executing anoperation to send a plurality of selectable filter values to the clientmachine for display (block 1112). In this embodiment, each filter value,alone or in combination, is used to narrow the scope of the plurality ofsearch results from block 1104 of FIG. 11A. An operation is executed toreceive a selection of at least one filter value from the client machine(block 1114).

In some embodiments, the selectable filter values include a plurality ofprice quantiles each comprising at least one price associated with anitem from the search results. In some of these embodiments, theplurality of price quantiles includes the range of prices associatedwith the plurality of search results from block 1104 of FIG. 11A. Insome embodiments, the selectable filter values include values to filterauction-based price values or fixed price values from the firstplurality of search results.

An operation is executed to determine another plurality of searchresults from the plurality of offered items (block 1116). This operationis executed based, at least in part, on the received search query fromblock 1102 of FIG. 11A and the received selected filter value(s) fromblock 1114.

An operation is executed to determine a range of popular pricesassociated with a subset of the narrowed search results (block 1118). Insome embodiments, this subset of search results includes a median pricefor the narrowed search results. In other embodiments, this subset isdetermined based on a utility cost function using a plurality of pricequantiles and plurality of price values included in different pricequantiles. An operation is executed to send the filtered search resultsand the popular range of prices to the client machine (block 1119).

In some embodiments, processes may determine popular ranges for aplurality of related subsets of the search results of block 1104 of FIG.11A. FIG. 11C illustrates logic flow 1120 that includes executing anoperation to determine a range of prices associated with a second subsetof the plurality of search results (block 1122). For example, in oneembodiment, the subset discussed in block 1106 of FIG. 11A may comprisenew items, and said second subset may comprise used items. In anotherexample, the subset discussed in block 1106 of FIG. 11A may comprisefixed price items, and said second subset may comprise auction baseditems. The range of prices associated with the second subset of thesearch results is sent to the client machine for display (block 1124).

Although an embodiment has been described with reference to specificexample embodiments, it will be evident that various modifications andchanges may be made to these embodiments without departing from thebroader spirit and scope of the present disclosure. Accordingly, thespecification and drawings are to be regarded in an illustrative ratherthan a restrictive sense. The accompanying drawings that form a parthereof show, by way of illustration, and not of limitation, specificembodiments in which the subject matter may be practiced. Theembodiments illustrated are described in sufficient detail to enablethose skilled in the art to practice the teachings disclosed herein.Other embodiments may be utilized and derived therefrom, such thatstructural and logical substitutions and changes may be made withoutdeparting from the scope of this disclosure. This Detailed Description,therefore, is not to be taken in a limiting sense, and the scope ofvarious embodiments is defined only by the appended claims, along withthe full range of equivalents to which such claims are entitled.

Such embodiments of the inventive subject matter may be referred toherein, individually or collectively, by the term “invention” merely forconvenience and without intending to voluntarily limit the scope of thisapplication to any single invention or inventive concept if more thanone is in fact disclosed. Thus, although specific embodiments have beenillustrated and described herein, it should be appreciated that anyarrangement calculated to achieve the same purpose may be substitutedfor the specific embodiments shown. This disclosure is intended to coverany and all adaptations or variations of various embodiments.Combinations of the above embodiments, and other embodiments notspecifically described herein, will be apparent to those of skill in theart upon reviewing the above description. Descriptions of a plurality offeatures including the term “or” are to be interpreted as including anypossible combination of said features.

The Abstract of the Disclosure is provided to comply with 37 C.F.R. §1.72(b), requiring an abstract that will allow the reader to quicklyascertain the nature of the technical disclosure. It is submitted withthe understanding that it will not be used to interpret or limit thescope or meaning of the claims. In addition, in the foregoing DetailedDescription, it can be seen that various features are grouped togetherin a single embodiment for the purpose of streamlining the disclosure.This method of disclosure is not to be interpreted as reflecting anintention that the claimed embodiments require more features than areexpressly recited in each claim. Rather, as the following claimsreflect, inventive subject matter lies in less than all features of asingle disclosed embodiment. Thus the following claims are herebyincorporated into the Detailed Description, with each claim standing onits own as a separate embodiment.

Hardware modules can provide information to, and receive informationfrom, other hardware modules. Accordingly, the described hardwaremodules may be regarded as being communicatively coupled. Where multipleof such hardware modules exist contemporaneously, communications may beachieved through signal transmission (e.g., over appropriate circuitsand buses) that connect the hardware modules. In embodiments in whichmultiple hardware modules are configured or instantiated at differenttimes, communications between such hardware modules may be achieved, forexample, through the storage and retrieval of information in memorystructures to which the multiple hardware modules have access. Forexample, one hardware module may perform an operation and store theoutput of that operation in a memory device to which it iscommunicatively coupled. A further hardware module may then, at a latertime, access the memory device to retrieve and process the storedoutput. Hardware modules may also initiate communications with input oroutput devices and can operate on a resource (e.g., a collection ofinformation).

The various operations of example methods described herein may beperformed, at least partially, by one or more processors that aretemporarily configured (e.g., by software) or permanently configured toperform the relevant operations. Whether temporarily or permanentlyconfigured, such processors may constitute processor-implemented modulesthat operate to perform one or more operations or functions. The modulesreferred to herein may, in some example embodiments, compriseprocessor-implemented modules.

Similarly, the methods described herein may be at least partiallyprocessor-implemented. For example, at least some of the operations of amethod may be performed by one or more processors orprocessor-implemented modules. The performance of certain of theoperations may be distributed among the one or more processors, not onlyresiding within a single machine, but deployed across a number ofmachines. In some example embodiments, the processor or processors maybe located in a single location (e.g., within a home environment, anoffice environment or as a server farm), while in other embodiments theprocessors may be distributed across a number of locations.

The one or more processors may also operate to support performance ofthe relevant operations in a “cloud computing” environment or as a“software as a service” (SaaS). For example, at least some of theoperations may be performed by a group of computers (as examples ofmachines including processors), these operations being accessible via anetwork (e.g., the network 104 of FIG. 1) and via one or moreappropriate interfaces (e.g., APIs).

Example embodiments may be implemented in digital electronic circuitry,or in computer hardware, firmware, software, or in combinations of them.Example embodiments may be implemented using a computer program product,(e.g., a computer program tangibly embodied in an information carrier,in a machine-readable medium for execution by, or to control theoperation of, data processing apparatus, a programmable processor, acomputer, or multiple computers).

A computer program can be written in any form of programming language,including compiled or interpreted languages, and it can be deployed inany form, including as a stand-alone program or as a module, subroutine,or other unit suitable for use in a computing environment. A computerprogram can be deployed to be executed on one computer or on multiplecomputers at one site or distributed across multiple sites andinterconnected by a communication network.

In example embodiments, operations may be performed by one or moreprogrammable processors executing a computer program to performfunctions by operating on input data and generating output. Methodoperations can also be performed by, and apparatus of exampleembodiments may be implemented as, special purpose logic circuitry(e.g., a FPGA or an ASIC).

A computing system can include clients and servers. A client and serverare generally remote from each other and typically interact through acommunication network. The relationship of client and server arises byvirtue of computer programs running on the respective computers andhaving a client-server relationship to each other. In embodimentsdeploying a programmable computing system, it will be appreciated thatboth hardware and software architectures merit consideration.Specifically, it will be appreciated that the choice of whether toimplement certain functionality in permanently configured hardware(e.g., an ASIC), in temporarily configured hardware (e.g., a combinationof software and a programmable processor), or a combination ofpermanently and temporarily configured hardware may be a design choice.Below are set out hardware (e.g., machine) and software architecturesthat may be deployed, in various example embodiments. It is contemplatedthat any features of any embodiments disclosed herein can be combinedwith any other features of any other embodiments disclosed herein.Accordingly, these any such hybrid embodiments are within the scope ofthe present disclosure.

What is claimed is:
 1. An apparatus comprising: one or more hardwareprocessors and memory configured to provide computer programinstructions to the one or more hardware processors; a client comprisinga graphical user interface (GUI), wherein the client is configured touse the one or more hardware processors to: communicate, to a searchengine of a marketplace system, a first search query indicating an itemlisted by the marketplace system; receive, from the search engine, afirst plurality of listings determined from a plurality of listingsbased, at least in part, on the first search query; receive, from adynamic price range determination system in communication with themarketplace system and comprising a listings search engine and a pricepoint computation engine, a range of prices determined by the pricepoint computation engine based on a second plurality of listings, thesecond plurality of listings determined from the plurality of listingsby the listings search engine based, at least in part, on the firstsearch query and one or more first selection criteria, wherein thesecond plurality of listings includes at least one different listingthan the first plurality of listings, wherein each of the secondplurality of listings is associated with a price, the range of pricesfurther determined by the price point computation engine based on one ormore second selection criteria; and cause a presentation, on the GUI, ofdata for the determined first plurality of listings and the range ofprices determined based on the second plurality of listings.
 2. Theapparatus of claim 1, wherein the client is configured to utilize theone or more hardware processors to further: cause a presentation, on theGUI, of data for a plurality of selectable filter values, wherein eachfilter value of the plurality of selectable filter values, alone or incombination, is selectable to narrow a scope of the first plurality oflistings into a narrowed first plurality of listings; receive aselection of at least one filter value; communicate the selected atleast one filter value to the listings search engine; receive thenarrowed first plurality of listings and a second range of pricesdetermined based on a narrowed second plurality of listings, thenarrowed second plurality of listings determined by the listings searchengine from the plurality of listings based, at least in part, on thefirst search query, the selected at least one filter value and the oneor more first selection criteria, the second range of prices determinedby the price point computation engine based on the narrowed secondplurality of listings and the one or more second selection criteria; andcause a presentation, on the GUI, of data for the narrowed firstplurality of listings and the second range of prices.
 3. The apparatusof claim 2, wherein the plurality of selectable filter values includes aplurality of price quantiles.
 4. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein theplurality of price quantiles corresponds to the range of pricesdetermined based on the second plurality of listings.
 5. The apparatusof claim 2, wherein the plurality of selectable filter values includesvalues to filter auction-based price values or fixed price values fromthe first plurality of listings.
 6. The apparatus of claim 1, whereinitems of a first subset of the first plurality of listings compriseunused items, wherein the client is configured to utilize the one ormore hardware processors to further: receive a second range of pricesdetermined by the price point computation engine and associated with asecond subset of the first plurality of listings, wherein items of thesecond subset of the first plurality of listings comprise used items;and cause a presentation, on the GUI, of data for the second range ofprices.
 7. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein items of a first subset ofthe first plurality of listings comprise fixed price items, wherein theclient is configured to utilize the one or more hardware processors tofurther: receive a second range of prices determined by the price pointcomputation engine and associated with a second subset of the firstplurality of listings, wherein items of the second subset of the firstplurality of listings comprise auction based items, wherein the secondrange of prices associated with the auction based items comprise finalbid prices, wherein the second subset of the first plurality of listingsincludes a median final bid price for used items of the first pluralityof listings; and cause a presentation, on the GUI, of data for thesecond range of prices.
 8. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the one ormore first selection criteria define a collection of clicked listings asa source for the second plurality of listings.
 9. The apparatus of claim1, wherein the determined range of prices is centered on a mean pricevalue for the first plurality of listings.
 10. The apparatus of claim 1,wherein the one or more first selection criteria define a collection oflistings as a source for the second plurality of listings, and whereinthe one or more second selection criteria comprise a determination ofthe range of prices using prices from the collection of listingsassociated with purchases made during a same session as a correspondingsearch query.
 11. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the dynamic pricerange determination system is configured to monitor clicked listings andgenerate a corresponding collection of clicked listings; and wherein theone or more first selection criteria define the collection of clickedlistings as a source for the second plurality of listings.
 12. Theapparatus of claim 1, wherein the client comprises at least one of a webclient or a programmatic client.
 13. A method comprising: communicating,to a search engine of a marketplace system, a data transmissionincluding data indicating a first search query for an item listed by apublication system; receiving, from the search engine, a first pluralityof listings determined from a plurality of listings based, at least inpart, on the first search query; receiving, from a dynamic price rangedetermination system in communication with the marketplace system andcomprising a listings search engine and a price point computationengine, a range of prices determined by the price point computationengine based on a second plurality of listings, the second plurality oflistings determined from the plurality of listings by the listingssearch engine based, at least in part, on the first search query and oneor more first selection criteria, wherein the second plurality oflistings includes at least one different listing than the firstplurality of listings, wherein each of the second plurality of listingsis associated with a price, the range of prices further determined bythe price point computation engine based on the second plurality oflistings and one or more second selection criteria; and causing apresentation of the determined first plurality of listings and the rangeof prices determined based on the second plurality of listings.
 14. Themethod of claim 13, further comprising: causing a presentation of aplurality of selectable filter values, wherein each filter value, aloneor in combination, is selectable to narrow a scope of the firstplurality of listings into a narrowed first plurality of listings;receiving a selection of at least one filter value; communicating a datatransmission including data indicating the selected at least one filtervalue; receiving the narrowed first plurality of listings and a secondrange of prices determined based on a narrowed second plurality oflistings, the narrowed second plurality of listings determined by thelistings search engine from the plurality of listings based, at least inpart, on the first search query, the selected at least one filter valueand the one or more first selection criteria, the second range of pricesdetermined by the price point computation engine based on the narrowedsecond plurality of listings and the one or more second selectioncriteria; and causing a presentation of the narrowed first plurality oflistings and the second range of prices determined based on the narrowedsecond plurality of listings.
 15. The method of claim 14, wherein theplurality of selectable filter values includes a plurality of pricequantiles.
 16. The method of claim 15, wherein the plurality of pricequantiles corresponds to the range of prices determined based on thesecond plurality of listings.
 17. The method of claim 14, wherein theplurality of selectable filter values includes values to filterauction-based price values or fixed price values from the firstplurality of listings.
 18. The method of claim 13, wherein items of afirst subset of the first plurality of listings comprise unused items,and wherein the method further comprises: receiving a second range ofprices determined by the price point computation engine and associatedwith a second subset of the first plurality of listings, wherein itemsof the second subset of the first plurality of listings comprise useditems; and causing a presentation of the second range of prices.
 19. Anon-transitory machine-usable storage medium embodying instructionswhich, when executed by a machine, cause the machine to performoperations comprising: causing a presentation of a plurality ofselectable filter values, wherein each filter value, alone or incombination, is selectable to narrow a scope of a first plurality oflistings, determined from a plurality of listings by a search engine ofa marketplace system, into a narrowed first plurality of listings;receiving a selection of at least one filter value; communicating a datatransmission including data indicating the selected at least one filtervalue; receiving the narrowed first plurality of listings and a range ofprices determined based on a narrowed second plurality of listings, thenarrowed second plurality of listings determined, by a listings engineof a dynamic prince range determination system, from the plurality oflistings based, at least in part, on a first search query, the selectedat least one filter value and one or more first selection criteria, therange of prices determined, by a price point computation engine of thedynamic prince range determination system, based on the narrowed secondplurality of listings and one or more second selection criteria; andcausing a presentation of the narrowed first plurality of listings andthe ranges of prices determined based on the narrowed second pluralityof listings.
 20. The non-transitory machine-usable storage medium ofclaim 19, wherein items of a first subset of the first plurality oflistings comprise fixed price items, and the operations furthercomprise: receiving a second range of prices determined by the pricepoint computation engine and associated with a second subset of thefirst plurality of listings, wherein items of the second subset of thefirst plurality of listings comprise auction based items, wherein thesecond range of prices associated with the auction based items comprisefinal bid prices, and wherein the second subset of the first pluralityof listings includes a median final bid price for used items of thefirst plurality of listings; and causing a presentation of the secondrange of prices.